


The only way out is to give in

by AidaSmjmm (Aida_Smjm)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Drama & Romance, F/M, Not Canon Compliant, Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter), Original Character(s), Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:47:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26199559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aida_Smjm/pseuds/AidaSmjmm
Summary: Set from book 5 and on. After the return of Lord Voldemort, the order of the Phoenix has been regrouped. Among the new recruits, a girl called Aida manages to catch Fred Weasley's eye - but what is she hiding? Why does she always look so serious and sad, despite her young age?
Relationships: Fred Weasley/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 5





	The only way out is to give in

“Molly, they’ll be fine.”

“I don’t know, Arthur.” Molly bit her lower lip, worry plastering on her pale face.

“She’s one of the best, Dumbledore himself vouched for her. The kids won’t have nothing to worry about, they’ll be safe!”

“Why not use a portkey, or, or… Fred and George could apparate! And take Ginny and Ron one each and…” Molly close her eyes, waving her hands in front of her, as to woosh away all her confusion. She took a deep breath. “I’m staying here, and going with them, and you could skip work and-“

“I cannot skip work, you know that. Fudge is already suspicious. And you, you have to go ahead and check the house first. Make sure it’s actually safe for the kids to spend the summer in. Alright?” Arthur held tightly his wife’s shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile.

Molly tried to keep up the frown, but eventually sighed and took one of Arthur’s hands in hers. “Oh, ok…”

* * *

“So, Dumbledore asked this woman to come pick us up? And take us where?” Ginny asked, folding her school robe and tossing it anyway in her trunk.

“Dunno,” said George, shrugging. He and Fred had already finished packing. Ron was still in his room trying to get his owl in its cage. Their parents had already left. Arthur that very morning, for work. Molly had left a couple of days before, parting from her children with teary eyes and a very shaky and tiny voice.

“She’ll be here in about 20 minutes, I reckon,” chimed Fred, checking his wristwatch. He wiggled his eyebrows at his twin. A little bit of turmoil to get their summer vacation started was right what they needed, he thought to himself. “How about we make her feel welcome?”

“Like… offering her some sort of refreshment? She must be tired after a long trip,” grinned George.

Ginny saw immediately through it. “Stop,” she closed her trunk whit a loud thud. “Dumbledore sent her here. The situation doesn’t look like one of the brightest, have you seen _mom_? She’s worried _sick_ , what would she say if she found out that the person who’s supposed to escort us to a safe place couldn’t do her job properly because her tongue grew _meters_ long? And-“

“Ok, ok, sorry, sorry” apologized Fred, waving his hands dismissively. “We’ll behave. Promise.” He surely didn’t want to get on her sister’s bad side, and neither wanted George.

The four siblings soon gathered in the kitchen. It was 9:55am, their escort should have been arriving any minute. Ron was sitting at the table, drumming his fingers on the wooden surface. Ginny was sitting on the counter, and the twins were standing on her sides. The clock on the wall struck ten, and all four of them could hear a roaring noise approaching from the outside.

“Is it a car? Lame. I thought we would apparate or something,” sighed Ron, shaking his head.

“Don’t worry, little Ronnie,” intervened Fred, very serious-looking.

“Yeah, don’t worry. The car is for you. Listen,” said George, pointing a finger in the air. They heard the soft sound of a car door getting closed. “She’s unrolling right now the red carpet for you!”

Ginny burst out laughing, and Ron’s ears turned red. They all fell quiet, waiting.

“So… she’s not coming in?” Ginny asked, getting off the counter. “Maybe we’re supposed to get out…” she peeked behind the curtain. “Yep, someone’s standing there. Let’s go.”

There were a couple of minutes of confusion, where everyone was collecting their trunks, cages, bags and coats, and they finally got out the Burrow. The sun was blinding at first, but as they started to approach the grey car in the middle of the courtyard they all could get a better look at the person standing in front of them, her back leaning against the vehicle, arms and legs crossed.

_“What kind of person is this woman?” asked Fred._

_“Why do you ask that?”_

_“Well, why is she the one taking us where you and mom already are?”_

_“Yeah, and more importantly, how can we know she’s not an impostor? What’s her name, what does she look like?” added George._

_Arthur Weasley smiled briefly. “Her name is Aida. She’s… pretty intense,” he replied, laconic._

Indeed, intense she was. She was sporting black boots, black jeans, and a long-sleeved black sweater, with a loose turtleneck. Her hair was brown and tied in a sort of messy chignon. She was wearing wide framed sunglasses, which covered all of her eye area, brows included. And she was _young_. Like, Hogwarts-aged young.

“Hi,” started Ginny, waving a hand. “I’m Ginny, and these are-“

“I know who you are. I’m Aida. Get in,” she interrupted, opening the door of the passenger’s rear seat. She went to hop in the driver’s seat.

“Ehm… where can we put our trunks? They’re pretty big,” asked Ginny.

Aida turned around, and she must have sported a sort of look of disbelief, because now they could see her eyebrows above the glasses. The rest of her facial features remained still. Immovable. “Trunk.”

George opened the trunk, and of course she must have cast an extension charm, because they could fit all their luggage without problems. Aida watched them in silence, standing by the driver’s door. Fred was the first to set his luggage, and he decided to bite the bullet. “Uh, Aida, can I offer you a toffee?” he asked, circling the car to reach her and fishing a candy in a colorful wrap from the rear pocket of his jeans.

Ginny rolled her eyes, and whispered “ _Fred!_ ”, and Aida caught that. She just stared at the toffee, for what seemed an eternity. She then turned her attention to Fred.

“You eat it.”

“Pardon?” asked Fred, befuddled. Ginny rand Ron had to suppress a burst of laughter. George had his breath stuck in his throat. “I have some more, it’s not the last one. You can have it if you want.” He tried to flash her his most reassuring grin, trying to catch a glimpse of her eyes behind the glasses, but they were pitch black and he could only stare at his reflection in them. He quickly scanned her face and gosh. From the little he could see, she was… beautiful. Her features were beautiful. Oval face, fair complexion, rose cheeks, thin lips – but the upper one was a little bit plumper. She had a small scar on her chin. He felt the sudden impulse to get her sunglasses off her face.

He felt his cheeks turn red, and the hand offering the candy closed in a fist and fell slowly on his side. Aida’s right eyebrow popped up again.

“I don’t have time for your antics, kids. Playtime’s over. Get in the car.”

Fred shut his mouth, which had been hanging open. The first, immediate vibe he got from her was _don't bullshit me_. She wasn't one to mess with. Ron shook his head and got in the passenger front seat. George sat behind him, Ginny in the middle and Fred behind Aida. She started the engine. The drive to Grimmauld place, 12 started incredibly quiet. The only sound Aida seemed to allow was that coming from the old radio, set on muggle frequencies. After an hour or so, Ginny dared to speak up.

“How long is the drive?”

George squeezed his eyes, Ron held his breath through clenched teeth, both ready for another venomous bite, but Aida’s answer came in a very practical tone.

“Four hours total. We’ll stop somewhere in an hour or so to eat something.”

“We have our lunch,” intervened Ron, his voice hesitant. Fred really wanted to smack him in the head. The last thing he wanted her to know about him was that he had some terrible, dry and stale meat sandwiches in his bag made by his mom two days prior.

“Ok. But we’re stopping anyway. I have to get gas.”

About 100 kilometers further, they stopped at an old gas station on the road. Aida turned the engine off.

“Why are you not using magic?” asked Ginny. "The AC's broken, you could fix it, it's _so_ hot behind here."

 _Gosh_ , thought Fred to himself. _My sister does not have any sense of danger and self-preservation at all today_. But Aida didn’t seem to mind the question.

“Because that’s the way I grew up in doing things. We’re in a muggle area. I’ll use my wand only when it’s necessary. Not sweating is not a necessity, it's a commodity.”

“For Merlin’s beard, you sound like our dad,” sighed Ron, unbuckling his seat belt. _Another one ready to wave goodbye to this old world_ , thought Fred.

“I like your dad. I can tell him unfunny primary school muggle jokes and they always tear him up.”

“You can tell jokes?” blurted out George, gasping. “Impossible!” _Shit, George, now you too!_

“Ask your dad. Now, get off. And be back here in twenty minutes.”

As the four siblings took their way to the station to get some water and to eat their shameful sandwiches, Fred's head was buzzing. He made a mental list of what he could grasp from Aida’s looks, words and behavior:

\- She seemed to be pretty practical, and _maybe_ not as scary as what she intended to look like;

\- One, if not both of her parents, were muggles, and she grew up in a muggle environment;

\- He wasn’t entirely sure if she had a sense of humor, or if she told his father shitty muggle jokes just to comply;

\- She must have been a year or so older than George and he;

\- She had fantastic legs;

\- And smelled also really nice.

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so I wrote this in a rush while listening to a song that made me tear up and a verse of it is also the title of the fic.
> 
> This is a sort of headcanon I've had for like... years. And Aida is my OC for as long as I can remember. I love her so much and I hope you will like her as well, if this story goes on.  
> I don't know if I'll keep writing, I had attempted to write fanfiction before and I was absolutely not satisfied with the final result; I have a full time job and other stuff going on... etc. etc. Let's see how this goes.  
> Sorry for any typos and for my very bland writing style; English is not my first language. I'm counting on improving with time. Hope you will enjoy anyways.


End file.
